1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a novel proteinaceous sweetening compound which is substantially free from carbohydrate.
2. Description of the Prior Art.
In recent years, much effort has been expended in the search for natural and synthetic sweetening agents as sugar substitutes in the dietetic and pharmaceutical fields. The pure crystalline glycoside stevioside in known to be 300 times as sweet as sucrose. Miraculin, a glycoprotein containing both amino acids and sugars, has been found to convert a sour tasting substance into a sweet taste after the mouth is rinsed with miraculin. The stable solid form of miraculin is the subject matter of U.S. Pat. No. 3,676,149, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein and made a part hereof. Investigators have attempted to isolate and purify the taste effecting principles of the fruit of plants including Dioscoreophyllum cumminsii (Stapf) Diels, otherwise known as Serendipity Berries. This plant is found in several regions of tropical Africa, including the Congo, where the fruit is eaten by the natives. Inglett and May, Journal of Food Science, Vol. 34, pp. 408 -411 (1969) reported that the sweet principle of Dioscoreophyllum cumminsii was a carbohydrate type substance which was bound to fruit protein, although not proteinaceous. They postulated that the active principle might be an aglycone glycoside. U.S. Pat. No. 3,687,693, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein and made a part hereof indentifies a water soluble sweetening material of Dioscoreophyllum cumminsii as being a carbohydrate having a molecular weight of the order of 10,000.